Citation Nr: 0204734
Decision Date: 05/20/02 Archive Date: 05/24/02
DOCKET NO. 99-04 170 ) DATE
)
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Louis,
Missouri
THE ISSUE
1. Entitlement to service connection for gastroparesis.
2. Entitlement to service connection for a sinus disability,
to include a virus and sore throats.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of
the United States
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
W. R. Steyn, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active military service from November 1973 to
March 1982.
This appeal arises before the Board of Veterans' Appeals
(Board) from an August 1998 rating decision of the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Louis,
Missouri, which denied the veteran's claim seeking
entitlement to service connection for gastroparesis and a
sinus disability to include a virus and sore throats.
REMAND
As it was unclear from several statements of the veteran's
whether she wished to have a Travel Board hearing, the Board
sent her a letter asking her to clarify her intent. She
returned the letter in March 2002, and checked the line, "I
want a hearing before a member of the Board at the regional
office."
Hence, this case is REMANDED to the RO for the following
action:
The RO should schedule a hearing for the
appellant before a member of the Board
traveling to the RO for the purpose of
conducting such hearings.
After the hearing has been held, the case should be returned
directly to the Board for further consideration. No further
action on the part of the RO is required with respect to the
issue on appeal. The RO need not readjudicate the claim, and
a Supplemental Statement of the Case need not be issued.
The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and
argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded to
the regional office. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369
(1999).
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO.
The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the
Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or
other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious
manner. See The Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994,
Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994),
38 U.S.C.A. § 5101 (West Supp. 2001) (Historical and
Statutory Notes). In addition, VBA's Adjudication Procedure
Manual, M21-1, Part IV, directs the ROs to provide
expeditious handling of all cases that have been remanded by
the Board and the Court. See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44-
8.45 and 38.02-38.03.
G. H. Shufelt
Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991 & Supp. 2001), only a
decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to
the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This
remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not
constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your
appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2001).